Grace Church, Medford.
An Historical Monograph.1
by Benjamin Pratt Hollis.
THE Hon. James M. Usher, editor of the History of Medford, in his opening paragraph on Grace Church says:–
From the original settlement of Medford until nearly the middle of the present century Churchmen who lived within its borders were compelled, by the non-existence of a church of their faith in the town, to seek in neighboring towns the enjoyment of the forms of worship they so much loved. Their desire to do this, and their conviction that under such circumstances they ought not to be compelled to support by the payment of taxes or ‘rates’ the worship of the one religious society which for more than a century and a half existed here, led, at least in one case, to serious trouble. For we find that because of his refusal to pay such taxes, one Mathew Ellis, was imprisoned by the constable of the town. The said Ellis, however, was not willing thus to suffer deprivation of his religious liberty, and was granted an appeal from the judgments of the local courts by the “King in council.” What the final results of this case was, doth not appear, but it is probable that the custom of taxing those who were members of the Established [p. 26] Church of England did not long continue. But members of that Church, if they still desired to engage in its worship, were obliged to do so in the old parishes of Christ and Trinity Churches, Boston, or the somewhat nearer parish of Christ Church, Cambridge. This state of things continued until the year 1847.
In November of that year the project of an Episcopal church in Medford was first agitated; and at a meeting held on December 11 it was determined to make an effort to establish a parish. Christmas Eve was selected as an appropriate time for the first service, and the Rev. Dr. Alexander H. Vinton, rector of St. Paul's Church, Boston, was invited to preach on the occasion. One of the Congregational churches was loaned for the service, and, in accordance with the custom of the Episcopal communion on the Christmas festival, was fitly decorated with evergreen. This was, so far as is known, the first time that the public worship of the church was ever celebrated in Medford. On this occasion notice was given that thereafter there would be regular services in the Odd Fellows' Hall, situated in the upper part of the railway station.
On the evening of February 15, 1848, in accordance with a legal warrant previously issued, seven gentlemen assembled in a private house and organized the parish under the name of Grace Church.
An adjourned meeting was held on the evening of May 7, at which a code of by-laws was adopted and the parish organization completed. At the same time the Rev. David Greene Haskins, of Roxbury, was chosen rector.
On the second of July the church record reads: “Holy communion was first time administered in Medford,” and on the twenty-second of October the rite of confirmation was first administered, eight persons receiving the imposition of hands.
On the first of September, 1849, a committee was appointed to consider and report upon the best site for [p. 27] a church edifice, and on the fifth of September the committee recommended the purchase of a lot of land on High street, extending to the river and opposite the grounds of the old high school building. The recommendation was adopted. The land was secured, the work of raising the required funds and building the church rapidly prosecuted, and on the eleventh of May, 1850, the completed church edifice was duly consecrated by the Right Rev. Manton Eastburn, bishop of the diocese.
The cost of the land was $1,200, the cost of building and furnishing the church, $2,680, or a total of $3,880. The building, designed by J. E. Billings, Esq., architect, consisted of a porch, nave and chancel, with a rector's room adjoining. The outside was of planed boards, battened and painted. There was no spire, tower or belfry, but the porch and the two ends of the church were surmounted by floriated crosses. The church floor and gallery accommodated about two hundred persons. The land sloped toward the river, and under the chancel was the entrance to the basement Sunday-school room. It was a good specimen of the early English village church.
The rector, the Rev. David Greene Haskins, was born in Boston, May 1, 1818. He was graduated from Harvard University in the class of 1837, and in 1839 entered the junior class of the theological seminary, Andover.
From 1841 to 1844 he was preceptor of the Portland Academy at Portland, Maine. Removing to Roxbury in 1844, he conducted a private school for girls, and at the same time studied for the ministry under the direction of Rev. Dr. Howe, late bishop of central Pennsylvania.
On March 7, 1848, he was elected rector of Grace Church. In his early residence in Medford he occupied the old Remember Preston house in the square, opposite the town hall. In 1851 he built the house at the corner of High and Mystic streets in West Medford, afterwards occupied by the late Nathan Bridge. [p. 28]
This house was building at the time of the tornado; was entirely demolished, and had to be rebuilt.
Mr. Haskins resigned the rectorship February 18, 1852.
| At that time the number of parishioners was | 84 |
| Died or removed since the establishment of the parish | 64 |
| Present number of communicants | 40 |
| Whole number confirmed | 31 |
| Whole number of baptisms | 60 |
| Whole number of marriages | 10 |
| Whole number of burials | 14 |
Mr. Haskins died in Cambridge May 11, 1896. He was succeeded in the rectorship by the Rev. Justin Field, who became rector on the fourteenth of September, 1852, and remained until December, 1859. During a portion of his ministry the parish was aided by an appropriation from the Diocesan Board of Missions. A vacancy in the rectorship existed for a year succeeding Mr. Field's resignation. The Rev. A. C. Patterson of Buffalo, New York, was invited, but circumstances prevented his assuming charge of the parish.
The Rev. George Augustus Strong became rector in January, 1861, and remained until May, 1863. He was born in Norwich, Conn., in 1832. Mr. Strong writes:
The Episcopal, or, as it is sometimes called, the English Church, was at that period rather conservative in its pulpit utterances relating to the leading questions of the day, but Mr. Strong seems to have been a courageous radical.The larger part of my early life before entering Kenyon College, Ohio, in 1847, was spent in Cincinnati. The three years of my theological training in the Alexandria Seminary, Virginia, in the same class with my friend Phillips Brooks, closed in 1859, and I was ordained in the early summer of that year. For less than two years after leaving the seminary, I was assistant to Bishop Lee of Delaware, and the Medford parish was my first full charge.
Mr. George Porter and his sister, with the family connections of Mrs. Dudley Hall, children and grandchildren, were the more prominent members of the parish and my constant supporters. The young ladies of the church, Miss Nellie Wilde, Miss Caroline Train, [p. 29] Miss Mary King, and others, gave me patient and ready help in the Sunday-school under Mr. Gardiner P. Gates, our efficient superintendent. Those were the early years of the war, anxious years for us all, and for many of the people in Medford, as elsewhere through the land, overclouded with doubts about the outcome of the conflict, doubts which I never shared. I remember preaching persistently my faith in the final success of our cause, as the only service I was permitted to render; rather feeble service, indeed, but hotly sincere. Phillips Brooks, at home from his first Philadelphia parish for a vacation visit in Boston, sat in a pew in our church on one of the Sundays, and privately criticized the sermon as “bloodthirsty.”
‘After leaving Medford in 1863, officiated two and one-half years in Calvary Church, Germantown, Penn.; twelve years as professor of English literature in Kenyon College; ten years as rector of Grace Church, New Bedford, and ten more as a resident of Cambridge, where my home now is.’
Mr. Strong was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Henry Learoyd, who entered upon his duties September 6, 1863.
Mr. Learoyd was born in Danvers. He entered Harvard College in 1854; was a member of the Institute Society, the Hasty Pudding Club and the Phi Beta Kappa; formed the Harvard Glee Club, and was its first leader; graduated in 1858; entered the Andover Theological Seminary in 1859; became rector of Grace Church, Medford, in 1863. October 14, married Susan Ellen Perley of Danvers.
On the sixth of September, 1865, Mr. Learoyd went to Europe, and the Rev. C. Ingalls Chapin acted as supply until his return on the twenty-third of the following September. [p. 30]
‘In 1867 the parish entered upon the work of building a new church, and the sum of fifteen thousand dollars was subscribed for the purpose; but subsequently the undertaking was assumed by the family of the late Gorham Brooks, Esq. The amount subscribed by the parish was placed in the hands of the Trustees of Donations as a permanent fund. The corner stone of the church was laid September 17, 1867, by the Rev. Mr. Learoyd, when an address was delivered by the Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., the present bishop of New York. Beneath the stone was deposited a box containing a silver plate, with this inscription: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” The corner stone of this building is laid the seventeenth of September, 1867, by the Parish of Grace Church, Medford, organized the eighteenth of February, 1848. Then followed the names of the bishops of the diocese, the rector of the parish, the officers, building committee and architect. The church was erected under the supervision of John T. Tarbell, Francis A. Gray, Dudley C. Hall, Shepherd Brooks and the rector as a building committee. The parish took possession of the new stone church on Advent Sunday, 1868.’
Mr. Learoyd resigned his rectorship at Easter, 1872, and became rector of St. Thomas Church, Taunton. He was elected treasurer of the diocese of Massachusetts in 1873, which office he now (1901) holds. He resigned from St. Thomas Parish in July, 1895, and accepted the rectorship of Emmanuel Church, Wakefield, January 15, 1896.
On the fifteenth of September, 1872, the Rev. Charles Lewis Hutchins entered upon the rectorship of the parish. Mr. Hutchins was born in Corcord, New Hampshire, in 1838, of George and Sarah Rolfe Tucker Hutchins. His great-grandfather, Gordon Hutchins, fought as a captain with the Continental troops at Bunker Hill, and was afterward breveted colonel. Mr. Hutchins graduated from Williams College in 1861, [p. 31] and spent a year in a voyage around the world. His theological studies were pursued at the General Theological Seminary, New York City, from which he graduated in 1865. Ordained the same year both deacon and priest; became assistant minister at the Church of the Holy Communion, New York, in 1865; rector of St. John's, Lowell, from 1865 to 1869; assistant minister at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York, 1869 to 1872. Mr. Hutchins married Mary Groom, daughter of Thomas Groom, of Boston. For many years he has been interested in musical work and in 1871 edited the Church Hymnal, and later established a musical called the Parish Choir, which, at one time, was the only weekly publication in the world devoted to church music.
In 1871 Mr. Hutchins was elected third assistant secretary of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the United States, and in 1877 was made secretary, which office he still holds (1901).
In 1873 a commodious rectory, situated on the northerly side of High Street, a short distance from the church, was built by Dudley C. Hall, Esq., and by him presented to the parish for the use of the rector.
‘The church building’ (to quote again from Mr. Usher), ‘which since its completion had remained in the ownership of the family who had generously erected it, and consequently, in accordance with the canonical law of the church, could not be consecrated, was given to the parish by Mr. Peter C. Brooks and Mr. Shepherd Brooks, and received consecration at the hands of the Right Rev. Henry A. Neely, Bishop of Maine, on the sixth of May, 1873. The services of consecration were of the most impressive character, and were attended by a very large congregation, as well as by a larger number of clergymen than had been gathered together at a similar service in the history of the diocese. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Alexander H. Vinton, and several of the former rectors of the parish participated [p. 32] in the services. In presenting these gifts of church and rectory to the parish, the donors placed them in the hands of the ‘Trustees of Donations’ (a corporation formed for the purpose of holding and preserving ecclesiastical property for the Episcopal Church), thus preventing the possibility of alienation and loss.’
In September, 1873, was raised to the ringing-chamber of the tower a chime of nine bells attuned to the scale of G, with tenor of 1,383 lbs., cast by the Blake Bros. Co., successors of Paul Revere. The tenor or largest bell was provided by and is still owned by the town, being designed for service as a fire-bell, though never used for that purpose. Five of these bells are memorial.
The following is the weight of the respective bells with names of the donors:—
| G, | Treble, | 192 lbs. | —Children of Margaret B. Buss. |
| F, | 2, | 217 lbs. | —Joseph K. Manning. |
| F#, | 3, | 296 lbs. | —Children's bell. |
| E, | 4, | 371 lbs. | —Mrs. Gorham Brooks and family. |
| D, | 5, | 425 lbs. | —Mrs. Dudley C. Hall. |
| G, | 6, | 637 lbs. | —Grace Church, Medford. |
| B, | 7, | 725 lbs. | —Dudley C. Hall. |
| A, | 8, | 988 lbs. | —Grace Church, Medford. |
| G, | Tenor, | 1,383 lbs. | —Town of Medford. |
| —— | |||
| 5,234 lbs. |
In addition to the date of casting, each bell has an inscription of an appropriate quotation from the scriptures. The contract price of the chime was $2,600, of which the town paid $600, and there was beside an additional expense of $100 connected with the work of raising.
On the eleventh of June, 1882, the corner stone of a Parish House was laid. This building, which is of stone, was completed and used for the first time on the twenty-second of October. It contains a chapel for Sunday-school and week day services, choir library and vestry room, and on the floor below a room which was for a time used for a day school but has recently been rearranged to serve as a room for social gatherings. The [p. 33] cost of the building, which was constructed by Mr. S. C. Earle, was $7,668, including the furnishings.
In 1883 the Rev. John B. Richmond, formerly rector of St. Michael's, Marblehead, became assistant minister, and on April 7, 1890, resigned the position after seven years of service.
Mr. Hutchins resigned the rectorship April 15, 1890, and was succeeded in July by the Rev. Arthur Bannard Moorehouse, A. M.
Mr. Moorehouse was born in Schenectady, N. Y. He graduated from Union College in 1878, receiving the degree of A. B., and in 1881 received the degree of A. M. in course. In 1880 he entered the General Theological Seminary, N. Y., and was graduated in the class of 1883. In May of that year he was made deacon by the Right Rev. W. C. Doane, D. D., bishop of Albany, and spent his diaconate as assistant in St. John's Church, Washington, D. C., ordained priest in 1884, and was assistant in St. Paul's Church, Troy, N. Y. Became rector of Zion's Church, Sandy Hill, in 1885; in 1889, rector of St. Luke's, Chelsea, and in 1890, of Grace Church, Medford. Mr. Moorehouse resigned the rectorship on account of ill health on the first of September, 1897.
From that time until April 20, 1898, the parish was without a rector, but on that date, the Rev. Frank Ilsley Paradise, for four years dean of Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans, accepted the call and at once entered upon his new duties. Mr. Paradise was born in Boston and educated in the public schools and at Phillips Academy, Andover. He was graduated from Yale University in the class of 1888, and was prepared for the ministry at the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn., the school which was founded and presided over by Bishop Williams. Upon his ordination to the diaconate in 1890, Mr. Paradise was called to the rectorship of St. Peter's Church, Milford, Conn., where he remained three years, when he was called to St. Luke's Church, East Greenwich, R. I. After a short rectorship of seven [p. 34] months in this beautiful town, he was elected dean of Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans, La., and began his work there in February, 1894. He filled this position for the next four years, and in April, 1898, was called to the rectorship of Grace Church, Medford.
The fiftieth anniversary of Grace Church was suitably observed on Sunday, May 7, 1898. The historical address was delivered by the new rector and was exceedingly interesting. The musical program was prepared under the direction of Geo. L. Willis, choir master, who had just completed seventeen years of active work in connection with the choir. Miss Elizabeth R. Robely was organist, she having served in that capacity since April, 1888.
In the evening a reception was given to the parish by the wardens and vestry. The invitation included all past and present members and others interested in the church, and the occasion was one of especial interest.
Grace Church, Medford, is the creation of that transcendent artist, Henry Hobson Richardson, architect of Trinity Church, Boston; Grace Church, Springfield; the Capitol at Albany, and Woburn Public Library. It is situated on High street, nearly opposite the site of the First, or Unitarian, Church and occupies one-third of the old Timothy Bigelow property, consisting of about fifty thousand square feet. The other two-thirds are owned by James W. Tufts. The style of the church is Gothic, with a sharply sloping roof, acutely pointed windows and a tower ninety feet in height, surmounted by an iron cross. The material is the cobble stone or boulder of the field, with trimmings of hewn granite. The external roof is of slate, with metal cresting. The interior finish is of open timber work, colored brown. The nave and aisles under one span of roof are seventy-one feet long by thirty-five feet wide, with a chancel twenty-eight feet long by nineteen feet wide. The apse of the chancel is pierced by fifteen lancet windows, each [p. 35] a memorial, filled with richly colored glass, illustrating scenes from the Old Testament and events in the life of our Saviour. The subjects, of which there are three groups, are as follows, beginning at the north:—
Isaac Carrying the Wood for Sacrifice, The Finding of Moses, The Child Samuel, Elijah Raising the Widow's Son, The Young Princes Before Nebuchadnezzar, The Nativity of Christ, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation in the Temple, Amongst the Doctors, The Cottage at Nazareth, Christ Blessing Little Children, Raising Jairus' Daughter, Raising the Widow's Son, The Youthful Timothy, and His Teachers, St. John With Children.
These windows were placed in memory of:
| Cynthia M. Ames, | 1880. |
| Hildreth Marvel, | 1887. |
| John W. Firth, | 1887. |
| Edward S. Church, | 1869. |
| E. I. and W. I. Ingersoll, | 1880. |
| Sarah Jane Haskell, | 1879. |
| Margaret G. Hutchins, | 1876. |
| Manton Learoyd, | 1872. |
| Frank K. Hall, | 1868. |
| Eugene B. Parsons, | 1883. |
| Minnie Williams, | 1874. |
| Helen Weston, | 1883. |
| Robert C. Kummer, | 1899. |
| Charles E. Kummer, | 1899. |
| George F. Fuller, | 1886. |
The altar furniture consists of a cross and vases of brass, altar desk and service book, credence table at right of altar. The sanctuary, which is tiled, contains also a bishop's chair and chair for clergy, and is separated from the choir by a brass railing. The choir is furnished with black walnut seats and chairs and desks for clergy. A stone screen about three feet in height separates the choir from the nave. The pulpit, on the north side of the chancel is of black walnut, octagonal in shape, with buttressed sides and Gothic panels. The lectern, of polished brass and exquisite workmanship, is memorial. The Bible has this inscription: ‘A Thank Offering from Mary G. Hutchins. A. D. 1872.’ On festival days the chancel is further adorned with a handsome rood-screen of Gothic pattern.
The choir of the first church consisted of a quartet of male and female voices, including in 1864, Mr. William H. Randall, Mr. Edwin F. Webber, Miss Anna Wild and Mrs. Charles B. Crockett, who sang to the [p. 36] music of an organ presided over by Miss Mary E. King in a gallery over the entrance door. Removing to the stone church, the choir and organ were placed in the alcove under the tower, where they continued until July 18, 1875, when a new organ, built by Hook & Hastings, was set up in the south side of the chancel, and the personnel of the choir was changed to a chorus of boys and girls; subsequently the girls were dropped from the choir, and on the twenty-second of October, 1882, the boys were surpliced for the first time and occupied seats in the chancel. Two years ago four girls were introduced into the choir, surpliced like the rest, with the addition of a black cap.
The alcove under the tower was, on the removal of the choir, converted into a baptistry, in which was placed a new font, the gift of the rector, the Rev. Charles L. Hutchins, and bearing on one of its sides, ‘In memory of Margaret Gordon Hutchins, at rest, August 22, 1876.’ ‘The font stands on a slab of Kibbe stone. Its base is of Tennessee marble. From the base rise five shafts; the central one is of Medford granite, taken out of Pasture Hill. The four shafts which cluster round the larger centre shaft are of French red marble. These shafts are surmounted by capitals showing in delicate sculptured work wreaths of lilies of the valley. The octagonal bowl is of Knoxville pink marble. On four of its sides angels' heads are sculptured, while on the remaining sides the words, “One Lord, one Faith, one baptism,” with the inscription before mentioned.’ There are in the church other memorials beside the chancel windows already referred to.
First. A beautiful tablet in the chancel to the memory of Miss Mary E. King, erected in 1878. It consists of a slab of pure black marble into which is sunk a large brass plate. The plate is beautifully engraved and contains unique and appropriate representations of St. Cecelia in a kneeling posture and devotionally engaged in playing a primitive organ. Beneath the figure and [p. 37] instrument, which are in a canopy, there is the inscription: ‘Mary Ellen King, who gave her services as organist to this church for more than 25 years. At rest, Aug. 12, 1877. The tribute of a grateful Parish.’ Second. A bronze tablet on the west wall to the memory of Mrs. Gorham Brooks, inscribed:
 |
| Zzz |
Third. A stained glass window on the northerly side of the church, erected by Mr.Adams and Mrs. James T. Adams as a memorial to their daughter, Mrs. Helen Adams Elliott. The subjects, Faith and Hope, are represented by two female figures; that in the left section bearing a large cross, that on the right, an anchor and an open book. The draperies of the figures are of a deep and rich green and red. In the top panel is an angel with an open book, on which is recorded the words: ‘She Hath Done What She Could.’ On scroll at the top. ‘To the Glory of God and in memory of.’ Inscription at the base; ‘Helen Adams Elliott. Died May 29, 1879. Aged 39 years. Erected by her parents. Right precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’ [p. 38]
Fourth. A window on the south side to the memory of Mrs. Ellen Shepherd Brooks,2 erected by her sons, Peter Chardon and Shepherd Brooks. This window, by John LaFarge, of New York, is noted for its exquisite colors, and is a valuable artistic decoration to the church. The subject, ‘Rebekah at the Well,’ is after a painting by Horace Vernet. At the base of the window is the inscription: ‘In memory of our mother, Ellen Shepherd Brooks, 1884.’ In this window the mullions are removed, the glass occupying the entire space.
Fifth. The brass cross and vases on the altar and re-table from Mrs. Dudley C. Hall. The cross is inscribed: ‘A Thanksgiving Offering.’
The silver of the communion service is very handsome. The beautiful flagon, paten, chalice, and alms basin which are used in the larger services were given to the parish by Mrs. Dudley Hall in 1868. The cruets and the smaller chalice were given by Miss Edna J. Manning, formerly a member of the Altar Guild. The pix was the gift of Miss Virginia Lee. The cruets are of cut glass, with silver trimmings. The other vessels are of silver. Suspended from the roof of the chancel is a corona chandelier, a Christmas gift from the Sunday-school in 1877. It is of polished brass, with twenty-four burners, made by Cornelius & Sons, Philadelphia, and exhibited by them at the Centennial Exposition. The hanging of the altar, the dorsal, and antepen-dium for pulpit consist of drapery, with emblems in raised needlework. There are four sets of these embroideries beautifully wrought in as many colors. White, used in Easter, Ascension and Epiphany seasons, symbolizes the sun-bright light of truth, innocence, joy, etc. Red, used at Whitsunday and Saints' days, stands for ardent love and for fire. Green, used at Trinity season, is symbol of life, from living vegetation. Violet, used in [p. 39] Advent and Lent, is symbol of sorrow or union of love and pain.
The west door of the church opens directly into the nave. Above it is a circular or rose window nine feet in diameter, glorious with stained glass, the gift of the Sunday-school.
The pews, thirty-seven in number, are open seats of quartered oak; the total seating capacity being about three hundred. Within a few months Pew No. 29 has been set apart for the use of students of Tufts College, and a designating plate affixed to the end of the pew.
In the earlier days of the church the clergyman read the service clad in a surplice, and during the singing of the second hymn, retired to the robing room and donned a black silk gown or preacher's robe. Later, say about the year 1870, an advanced form of worship obtained, and the gown fell into disuse, the minister wearing the surplice with a stole during the entire service, the stole being considered the symbol of a yoke.
To the imagination rapt in sacred reverie there come pictures of this consecrated pile, with its low depending roof and ‘ivy mantled tower.’ What a beautiful scene is that, and how inspiring when at even-song the rays of the setting sun, streaming through the great rose window tinted with many colored hues, fall on aisle and pew and chancel, and we are reminded that about this spot cluster the most hallowed associations. Here we have brought our children in infancy and presented them at the font for baptism; here in later years they have received the rite of confirmation; here to the strains of the wedding march we have advanced to the altar; and here, also, with solemn dirge, has been performed the last sad rite. We see the altar draped in white, with hangings of gold, the organ, the white-robed choristers and the words of Pope's majestic hymn, set to the music of the Russian anthem, ring out upon the air and break with heavenly melody upon our ears. [p. 40]
Rise, crown'd with light, imperial Salem, rise!
Exalt thy towering head and lift thine eyes!
See heaven its sparkling portals wide display,
And break upon thee in a flood of day.
See a long race thy spacious courts adorn,
See future sons, and daughters yet unborn,
In crowding ranks on every side arise,
Demanding life, impatient for the skies.
See barbarous nations at thy gates attend,
Walk in thy light, and in thy temple bend;
See thy bright altars thronged with prostrate kings
While every land its joyous tribute brings.
From earth's wide bound, from ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia!
Amen.
The Sunday-school.
Grace Church Sunday-school, though small as compared with some Sunday-schools, has been an important auxiliary of the church. The first superintendent at the formation of the school in 855 was Frederick Z. Seymour; he was succeeded by Mr. Gardiner P. Gates, who took charge of the school in January, 1861. There were then eight teachers and forty-six scholars.In 1877 the school had eleven teachers and seventy five scholars, with an average attendance of sixty. At that time medals were awarded for good behavior, regular attendance and perfect lessons, and at the Whitsunday festival fourteen scholars received medals furnished by the rector, and two of the boys in the choir were also decorated with medals furnished by the parish. A banner was given to the leading class and was carried at the head of the school in the processionals. At Whitsunday, 1878, the superintendent's report read as follows: School commenced May 27, 1877, continued to June 24, inclusive; resumed September 9, continued up to June 2, inclusive, forty-three Sundays. Whole number that have been in the Sunday-school duringthe year, [p. 41] eighty-two; whole number of persons acting as teachers during the year , fifteen. At present, 1901, there are on the books of the Sunday-school the names of one hundred and two children, nine teachers and three officers; Mr. Allison M. Stickney being superintendent. There is also a Bible class, which meets on a week-day evening, conducted by the rector. Some of the men who have been identified with the work of the Sunday-school besides Mr. Seymour and Mr. Gates, are Henry H. Elliott, Benj. P. Hollis, Chas. E. Kummer, Allison M. Stickney and Fred H. Fletcher. The latter died suddenly in September, 1901. He was not only an efficient superintendent, but had served the church in almost every capacity. ‘It would be hard to overestimate the value of his services or exaggerate the greatness of the loss the parish sustained in his death.’
The parish has for some years carried on a school at Wellington. It was organized by the Rev. A. B. Moorehouse and Miss E. M. W. Andrews, and commenced November 5, 1893, the classes being held in the houses of the teachers, five in number. In April, 1894, these classes met in Amaranth Hall, with Mr. Fred H. Fletcher, superintendent, and the school has continued to meet there, except during the summer months. The present superintendent is Mr. Chas. F. Weeks, Miss Andrews being secretary and treasurer. The expenses are met by some half-dozen residents and the weekly offerings. About the time the school was organized the Rev. A. B. Moorehouse started services which were held in the home of Mrs. Kendall, and these services have been continued at intervals in Amaranth Hall by Rev. E. P. Lee of West Somerville and the Rev. F. I. Paradise.
The Department of work.
A church cannot be considered a place of rest; the love of labor and self-sacrifice are essential attributes of the Christian character. The methods for the exercise [p. 42] of these qualities have changed from time to time, but at every period the church has sought not only to be a place of worship, but a centre of missionary and philanthropic activity. In 1872 this work was organized into a society known as the Parochial Helpers, and the interests of the church placed in the hands of committees of five departments—1. Of ministering to the sick and needy.2. Of church extension and Christian courtesy.
3. The missionary circle.
4. Of the care of the altar and vestry room.
5. Of church decoration. ‘To beautify the place of my sanctuary.’
Fifteen years later an organization known as the Guild came into existence, which sought to fosterthe social interests of the parish and to promote various forms of religious activity. Later still, the missionary spirit gained ascendancy, and the parish branch of the Woman's Auxiliary to the board of missons were active in every kind of mission work. In 1898 the present organization, known as Grace Church Guild, united all the various interests of the parish into one body and divided the work into various committees, which report at monthly general meetings. These divisions are called chapters; they are eight in number, as follows:–
Woman's Auxiliary.—Warden, Mrs. C. E. Kummer, 119 For-[p. 43]Charity.—Warden, Mrs. E. D. Manning, 37 Forest Street.
Vestments.—Warden, Mrs. Richard Diebold, 51 Prescott Street.
Sewing.—Warden, Mrs. Benj. P. Hollis, 10 Ashland Place.
Ecclesiastical Embroidery.—Warden, Mrs. Harry Highley, Highland Avenue.
Altar Guild.—Warden, Mrs. J. W. Foster, 180 High Street.
Church Periodical.—Warden, Miss Samson, 119 Woburn
Girls' Club.—Warden, Miss Samson, 119 Woburn Street.
Officers.—President, the Rector; Vice-presidents, Mrs. Charles B. Crockett, 43 Water Street; Mrs. Fred L. Godding, 210 Main Street; Secretary, Mrs. F. I. Paradise, 185 High Street; Treasurer, Mrs. E. D. Manning, 37 Forest Street.
In the words of the rector: ‘It is the aim of the Guild to include every form of church interest and activity. It has raised large sums for the work of the parish. It has improved and beautified the church fabric. It has contributed liberally to local parochial charities and has given both money and labor to the general missions of the church. The spirit which animates the Guild is the spirit of service. Its aim is to make the church a power for good in the community, and a helper in the Christian movement of the world. The forms of its organization will change in the future as in the past, but the spirit of service will, we believe, remain.’
| In 1892 the number of communicants was | 115 |
| In 1897 the number of communicants was | 200 |
| In 1901 the number of communicants was | 286 |
The reports of the parish, as given in the Convention Journals for the last four years, are as follows:
| Total expenditures for 1897 | $3,171.06 |
| Total expenditures for 1898 | 4,458.08 |
| Total expenditures for 1899 | 4,320.51 |
| Total expenditures for 1900 | 5,132.75 |
Baptisms: Infants, 7; adults, 3; total, 10. Confirmations 7; marriages, 8; burials, 6. Communicants: Admitted, 7; received, 25; removed, 45; present number, 286. Sunday-school: Officers and teachers, 17; pupils, 130; total, 147. Sittings, 259, rented. Services are supported by endowment, pew rents and envelope system.
Senior wardens.
| Phineas Capen | Feb. 15, 1848, to April 1, 1850 |
| Nathanial Tracy | April 1, 1850, to July 18, 1859 |
| Geo. D. Porter | April 26, 1860, to Nov. 1861 |
| L. F. Botsford | April 22, 1862, to April 29, 1867 |
| J. P. Tarbell | April 29, 1867, to April 13, 1868 |
| James Hedenberg | April 13, 868, to April 1, 1872 |
| Chas. B. Crockett | April 1, 1872, to April 22, 1878 |
| Benj. P. Hollis | April 22, 1878, to April 14, 1879 |
| Jno. B. Folger | April 14, 1879, to April 10, 1882 |
| Fred M. Tilden | April 10, 1882, to April 6, 1885 |
| William I. Parker | April 6, 885, to April 1, 1887 |
| Allison M. Stickney | April 11, 1887, to April 15, 1895 |
| Fred L. Godding | April 15, 1895, |
